In Their Shadow
by Calico45
Summary: In the world of Pokémon, everything differs from region to region: the landscape, the Pokémon, and most definitely the people. So putting everyone together, especially the children of the most prominent characters of these regions is a little crazy right? Well that is exactly what this academy is doing and all Blair Kirkland wants to do is survive the year. 2nd Gen Pokétalia.
1. Prologue

In Their Shadow

Prologue

A powerful shudder ripped through the youngster's thin body and he hissed at it, smoothing out the wrinkles in the sheets of his new bed. He was not supposed to be nervous or fearful; he was Blair Kirkland after all, the son of the Waterville gym leader and nephew of the regional champion, and this was just another school: Getryl Academy to be exact. He _deserved _to be here just as much if not more than anyone else. He had always studied to be the top of his class, and was the top of the entire school where he last attended. However, he could not help but be intimidated. This was the regional Pokémon academy that only the best of the best attended, bloodline alone could not guarantee a position. Nevertheless, here he was so he _had _to deserve it, even if he already knew many of the other attending students due his position as a gym leader's son and that they deserved it just as much as he. In all honesty, if that was all he was facing he would not feel anxious in the least, but everything is more complicated than it should be. What truly worried him more than anything was the existence and attendance of the heir of the Hero of Azel.

The Azel region was quite a distance from his own Getryl region, and much larger, in comparison. It was also significantly younger, despite being one of the most powerful. What little he knew about its hero was that it was an uncle of his, which was not really saying much considering his extended family, which made the heir his cousin. He had no name or face for either of his relatives, but he did know that the heir was going to be attending the academy with him—just great. Now he had to show up an unidentified, mysterious relative that happened to be the child of the most admired man in Azel to be valedictorian; this really was just perfect.

Blair finally sighed, snapping himself at least halfway from his thoughts as he run his thin fingers through his bright blond hair. Ten-year-olds really should not have to worry about this kind of thing, even if they were legally allowed to leave home at this age! His father had always opposed that law anyway and fought against it whenever he could. He would always say that children should be kept children and that they could be adults when both their minds and bodies caught up, until then they should stay home with their families. Blair could not honestly say he agreed with everything his father said; after all he had to fight the man to have a Pokémon at his age. Still, he had to believe that his father had his reasons. Just like how he had his reasons for having to be the valedictorian and being nervous about meeting the hero's heir. Suddenly the noise of a door opening and slamming broke the silence of the room, and with it, Blair's thoughts.

"Kirill!" he cried, turning fast enough to give him whiplash to glare at the tall preteen.

Said preteen scoffed at this and snorted, "I cannot help it if you are day dreaming! This is my dorm, too, as much as I hate it. No matter what I say they won't reassign us."

At this Blair smacked his forehead with a groan. What exactly did he ever do to deserve this again? Kirill Braginski and Estelle Bonnefey were the only two people in the world that he could not tolerate and the only reason he probably was not paired with Estelle was because she was a girl.

"Do we really have to brawl in the floor for them to fix this mess?" he muttered in exasperation.

Now Kirill sighed, "Probably."

And with that the two went silent, both wishing they were anywhere but in the little room with two simple twin beds and two wooden desks with matching chairs. It was far too plain, small, and reminiscent of a jail cell. In fact, it was really beginning to feel like one since they were all contained in this building and not allowed to leave except for classes. Meals and everything were served in the separate male and female dormitories. If students were truly itching to go outside their only option was a tiny, fenced in area that was attached to each dorm, completely forget about anything beyond school grounds until the school year was over. The thought actually made Blair feel a little exhausted. He would never get away from these idiots, would he? Most of his close friends were actually in the female dorm, being his cousins of course. Speaking of cousins, he had some in this dorm as well.

"August even volunteered to switch with you…" Blair grumbled, silently thanking his cousin for his kindness.

"Yeah, and Bruno liked the idea, too. For some odd reason he really likes me." Kirill added, having plopped on his bed by now and staring up at the white ceiling.

There was a sudden urge that told Blair to slam his head into the wall. It was a mix between his frustration and boredom, and he knew if he did not do something about it soon he would follow through with it.

"I believe it. Those two are too kind for their own good sometimes." He stated, hoping to start a conversation.

By this point he really did not care where it ended up. If it evolved into an argument and the expected brawl on the floor happened on their first night in the dorms, all the better! However, the rowdy Kirill seemed to be a little tired today.

"Cannot argue there, though he probably has to be like that." Kirill replied, beyond disinterested, but the words brought Blair out of his apathy.

"What do you mean? Bruno I can kind of understand, but not August. August is one of our main rivals after all; he does not have to worry about anybody."

Kirill paused a moment, before locking his violet orbs onto Blair's emerald ones, a flash realization in his eyes, "My dad mentioned that your father did not talk much about him, but this is a little extreme."

Blair raised an eyebrow at this, intrigued and a tad insulted at the same time, "Yes, well, August's father lives half of the year in another region and my dad does not really like that. He wants the family to all be together again, like when he was little. After all, the Waterville and Cirrus City gyms are pretty close so it is not asking much."

Kirill seemed a little taken aback by this and cleared his throat before speaking, "Do you know _which _region he lives in the other half of the year?"

Blair shook his head and Kirill blinked, dumbfounded, before he found his voice, "Then I need to go back to the beginning. For one, I was not talking August's dad earlier. Secondly, it is the Azel region. Can you put the pieces together or do I need to continue?"

It took a second for it to hit Blair like a pile of bricks, "The Hero of Azel!?"

"Bingo!" responded Kirill with a mocking clap, "August is best friends with his kid. Me, too, actually."

Now it was Blair's turn to be taken aback, "You, admitting a bond with someone? Who is this person?"

"Someone I cannot believe is related to you, half cousins or not. Her name is Nikkita by the way, and she has even more talent than August. Plus she has had her Pokémon longer, too, and August and I got ours pretty young."

"She is a girl? Not to be sexist or anything, but that makes it all the stranger that you are admitting a friendship with her."

Kirill rolled his eyes at this, "I do not deny things I feel strongly about. I really like her and consider her a worthy rival."

"Hm… I was a little anxious to meet this person, but now I am more curious than anything…"

Quickly something dangerous flashed in Kirill's darkening eyes, "I know you are cousins and all, but do not think that means I will stay quiet. Keep your distance and this will be as painless as possible."

Blair's eyes narrowed at this sudden outburst, "And what, pray tell, are you yammering on about now?"

"Nikki is mine. Do not make me repeat myself. I already have to put up with August, but I refuse to let you get away with it."

With that Kirill turned on his side, away from Blair and shattering the once peaceful atmosphere at the drop of a hat. It reminded Blair of why he referred to Kirill as a barbarian among other things. He sighed, remembering all the questions he still wanted to ask. Most of them were about Nikkita, but the others were about her father, and why his father never talked about them specifically. Now that Blair really thought about it, there were people that he father just avoided speaking about. August's father, Nikkita's father, and even Kirill's were only a select few. What on Earth could have happened in the past to make his dad not want to talk about his brothers when he was so adamant at the same time that he wanted them to all be together again? It just did not make sense. Of course, that was a worry for another time, seeing as Kirill was already snoring. Begrudgingly, Blair got ready for bed, changing into his pajamas and muttering something under his breath about not having a window before cutting the light off. It was going to be a long day tomorrow, now that he was finally moved in to the dorms and classes were beginning, and all he could think about as he drifted asleep was his desire to meet the curious hero's heir.


	2. Chapter 1

In Their Shadow

Chapter 1, Sweet Hollowness

It was at moments like this that Blair wondered how on Earth Kirill had any friends at all. He had figured the man was going to be a nightmare to live with, but this morning was utterly dreadful! Kirill had smashed Blair's alarm clock, used his toothbrush all the while claiming it an accident, and managed to keep these "accidents" rolling until they were very late for their first day of class. Now the two were in front of the entire class in the large classroom lined with tables and chairs making a very negative impression on their classmates. Needless to say, Blair was fuming while the two were being scolded and being warned about making bad habits. After the last word was said, Kirill rushed off to an open seat beside Bruno, though it took him a minute to sit down, almost as if he were looking for something. By this point Blair could not care less what it was and eagerly took an open seat in the front, hoping to earn a few points back with his homeroom teacher, only to see that the empty seat next to him oddly had a bag in the chair and binders on the side of the shared table next to said chair. He only spared it one passing thought as class began.

"Good morning class, for the sake of our tardy pair, I am Mr. Deron, your homeroom and history teacher. We have already gone through our introductions, and normally I would make you two stand in the front of the class and do yours as well, but your classmates assured me that you two were well known. That being said, it was thankfully all you missed—Ah! Ms. Jones, welcome back. Did you find your way to the office okay?"

There in the doorway stood a lean girl with pale skin and long, black hair. Her lavender eyes shined brightly despite her apathetic facial expression and she nodded to the teacher before crossing the classroom and taking the seat beside Blair. Suddenly the fact that there was stuff there made sense and he nodded a greeting to the girl as she passed him. His main thought was that she was one of the few people that he did not know in this school and he had managed to make a bad first impression—and he simply had to remedy that.

As Mr. Deron went on his merry way with the talk of school regulations and praise for the students that were selected he began writing the girl a message on a scrap piece of paper from one of his various notebooks, "My name is Blair Kirkland, and you are?"

It took a little while for her to respond once he passed the note and he had begun to think that she had chosen to ignore him and focus on their teacher when once more the note was back in front of his face.

"Nikkita D. Jones, at your service." it read in simple, though beautiful handwriting.

He reread this message a couple of times before simply staring at the words. There was no way on Earth that this was the Nikkita Kirill had been talking about, was she? No, that was preposterous. There is no way that it would be that easy for him to meet the hero's heir. As the argument raged in his head he peeked at Nikkita from the corner of his eye. He had to admit that this girl had quite a presence. He could not really name it, though, since it seemed to be a mix of imperialness, mystique, and capability all in one. Maybe this really was the girl.

He took a deep breath and began writing another message, "This is going to sound completely crazy, but are you the hero's heir?"

He held that deep breath the entire time Nikkita had the note. He could hear the movement of her pencil and each stroke made him want to snatch away the paper to read what was already there. At last the scrap of paper was returned to him.

"No," said the beautiful handwriting, "I am Nikkita and the daughter of Alfred F. Jones, who has been referred to as the Hero of Azel, but I am me. Nikkita D. Jones, not just some heir."

Blair winced at the words even as he reread them. Clearly he stepped on a land mine, and now that he thought about it, it made sense. He never liked it when he was always referred to as a gym leader's son or any other title that was a reference to his father and not himself, and here he went doing the same thing to others.

He quickly jotted down a response, "I am sorry, Nikkita. I should know better than anyone the pain of being referred to from my father's position and not my own. It seems I have made two bad impressions on you today. I really hoped to avoid that, especially since we are cousins."

The note was back in his hands before he even realized he passed it, "It is okay, and I thought the name Kirkland sounded familiar. Nice to meet you, Cousin, and 'Nikkita' is hard to say all the time so feel free to call me Nikki. Everyone else does."

Just as he was about to scribble a joyful reply Mr. Deron's voice rang out over everything, "Okay class, now we need to vote on class officers."

Blair was a little caught off guard by this. He had read the handbook twice and it had merely alluded to the subject of class officers. From what he understood from the text it was that they were a part of the student council, but still a separate entity entirely. The only other information that he could come up with was that two were accepted from each class. The method by which the positions were assigned was never discussed so he assumed it was up to the liberty of the teacher of said class.

"You, new students, probably have no clue what class officers are here, which is expected. It is purposely left to the teachers to explain," continued Mr. Deron, almost like he was reading Blair's thoughts, "There are two from each class and they are _technically_ a part of the student council. Nevertheless, the only time they appear for student council services are for formalities and if the president summons them. There is no specific way to really get this position laid out by the school so each teacher has a favorite way of doing things. I, for one, like to see you kids fight for it. You all fought to be here, so this should not be something new… Or should it?"

Mr. Deron suddenly had a smirk the size of Gengar's and it chilled the room, "You are all ten years old and attend a Pokémon academy. You are here to learn to be the next champions, no? So you have to have a Pokémon by now and it is time for you to use it! There you have it, folks, if you want this position you will have to win it through a Pokémon battle. I will not make you all compete, though I should, since I do not want someone who will neglect the position to have it. As for what you will be doing as a class officer, I can honestly say it will be too varied to explain. It will be a lot of work and you will have to take it in stride, but it is worth it. Now, if you wish to participate, raise your hands!"

The first hand Blair saw go up was no other than Nikki's. Blair had planned to go for the position anyway, but the fact that she could be his partner in it made him want it all the more. His hand shot up and he gazed around to survey the others. To his surprise, both Kirill and August had their hands in the air, August with his usual peppy smile and Kirill with put upon scowl. That was not all though. A girl with soft blond hair and shy aura who he recognized to be Florence Bonnefey caught his eye with her hand in the air. He never pictured his nervous cousin to be the leadership type, but there were even more people with their hands up that shocked him: Estelle Bonnefey, Larus Braginski, Junko Wang, even Leo and Conrad Beilschmidt whom had a penchant for mischief.

It took no time at all for the pairs to be matched. Blair found his partner to be Estelle, which he both dreaded and was grateful for. He liked to keep contact with her to the bare minimum, more than Kirill even, but considered her to be an easy victory. He quickly observed the other pairs to see that the Beilschmidt cousins were paired together as well as the Braginski boys. He smirked slightly, seeing Kirill eyeing his cousin haughtily. He knew the winner of that match already, just like the pairing of August and Junko. Nothing against the others, but he knew Kirill and August were _good_. His vision flittered to the last pair just in time for him to see Florence withdrawing and walking back to her seat, leaving Nikkita to watch all the others. Blair silently cursed not being able to see her fight, but figured the time would come soon enough. With that, his glare was fully placed on his opponent who was bouncing happily at the new attention, her bright blond curls resembling springs.

"Darling!" she called, clutching a red and white sphere which could only be a Pokéball, "I am afraid I cannot lose to you today, so I will take you out on a date to make up for it."

Blair shuddered at the mere thought, "Not if my life depended on it, hag!"

Estelle was about to make another comment, but Mr. Deron cut her off, "Begin!"

With that one word mass chaos began. Each competing student sent out his or her own Pokémon and the brawl began. Although it had not been explained in words, the way the battle worked was that each person would fight with one Pokémon until it fainted. The owner of said fainted Pokémon lost and the victor moved on to another round. Most people only had one Pokémon, so this was to try and keep it fair, but people with more than one could pull out an unused one for another round.

Blair smirked as he sent out his Vulpix, he was one of the latter, "Ember, go!"

Estelle frowned at this, commanding her Petil to dodge in vain. Vulpix was the fastest and landed a direct hit, engulfing the poor plant Pokémon in a fireball. Blair was not sure who cried out more, Estelle or her partner as the Pokémon was left with the burn effect.

"Any last words?" Blair asked, disinterested.

Anyone who knew anything knew that this was what happened when a fire type and a grass type fought. Nevertheless, that seemed to light a fire in Estelle's eyes.

"Yes! Now, Petil, teach my darling a lesson with—Baby, are you alright!?"

Blair blinked in shock as he watched the grass type fall over, fainted, from what had to be the burn effect. Apparently they talked too long. Without another word, but lots of crying and shrieks from Estelle, they both returned their respective partners, leaving Blair the victor. With a grin he quickly surveyed the results of the other matches and found himself quite pleased. Both of his predictions had been spot on, with August and Kirill being victors. The Beilschmidt that prevailed turned out to be Conrad. He took a quick mental note before he was assigned his new partner, Kirill. He had expected the boy to be thrilled about flaunting his bragged about battling prowess, but he looked quite peeved.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" hissed Blair, before he could even consider what he was saying.

That dangerous flash was once more in his eyes as he spoke, "I told you to keep your distance. If you had this would be more enjoyable for the both of us."

With that Mr. Deron called for the second match to begin before he could even see who was paired up with whom. Blair switched to a new Pokéball and sent out a Growlithe. He found his partner staring into the eyes of a Deino. He silently cursed at Kirill's use of a dragon type, but stood firm. All he had to do was focus on normal type attacks and it would all work out. As if reading Blair's thoughts, Kirill smirked.

"Deino," he growled, "Rock Tomb!"

Blair was so shocked by the command that he forgot he was even on the battlefield until the pain filled cry of his Growlithe met his ears.

"Super effective." Kirill added, his smile widening, "August had an extra TM."

Blair shook with rage. How dare he think he has won just because he surprised him. He was better than that, and they both knew it. Of course, that really did not change his situation much. Fire type moves would usually be the best choice for his Growlithe, which had the ability Flash Fire, however, fire moves were hardly effective against dragon types. His best hopes would be in fighting type moves to work against Dieno's dark type, which are hard to find in Growlithes. The best fighting type moves with them were egg moves, and he knew better than to believe his Pokémon had an egg move he did not know about. That left all his normal moves, which he doubted would take out the opponent before the next rock tomb hit. It had already slowed Growlithe down anyway. He needed a new plan, and now because Kirill was tired of waiting.

"Again, Rock Tomb!" came the command.

Deino never got a chance to fulfill it as Blair cried, "Growlithe, Roar!"

The loud cry completely paralyzed Dieno. It did not run away like it should have, but it could not move either. Kirill was slightly stunned himself. Since when did the move Roar ever end a battle?

"When only one Pokémon can come out." Blair explained, "I really did not want to resort to that, but…"

Suddenly Mr. Deron was counting and he counted out, deeming Deino unable to battle. Kirill had not even heard him begin, but now the match was over. Of course, this was only one battle—no, one half the battle. Blair knew this would be continued in their dorm as Kirill withdrew his partner and stalked off. If Kirill's favorite had been on the field, his Sneasel, Blair really doubted he would have gotten away with the last minute intimidation, but that did not matter now. He had, and now he had to face his new opponent. He glanced over at the others to see both August and Nikkita, only then did it occur to him that there had been an odd number so one of them could not have participated last round. He was about to voice his concerns when their teacher began.

"Well, kids, this is drawing to a close, so a quick recap. The last legal contenders are August, Blair, and Nikkita. We had an odd number last round so I participated as Nikkita's partner and she managed to beat me. For such a feat, I think it is fair to say she deserves her position, so the last match is between August and Blair."

Blair was more than shocked to hear this. Nikkita had beaten Mr. Deron, and he had missed it?! Plus now he had to face August, who he was sure had the most experience out of everybody other than Nikkita. His green eyes darted over his tanned cousin, his black hair and indigo eyes shining with glee.

"Sorry, Cuz." August apologized, "I really want to stay close with Nikki and considering how strict they are on dorms here, I will never get to see her. We normally see each other all the time and I refuse to lose that."

Blair nodded in understanding, but it was not like he was going to roll over. Unlike Kirill and August, he genuinely wanted this position. The fact he could get to know his mysterious cousin better was only an added bonus.

"Begin!"

In a flash of light August sent out one of his two main partners, a powerful Zangoose. Blair shuddered slightly as he pulled out another Pokéball, the one of his two main partners, and released a Buneary. Some people may laugh at this combination looking at Zangoose's claws, but Blair had an ace in the hole.

"Buneary, Jump Kick!" commanded Blair, taking the initiative.

August smiled sweetly, though it was obvious that he had expected as much from Blair. It was not all that uncommon for normal types to know fighting type moves. In fact, two could play at that game.

"Block using Crush Claw, Zangoose." instructed August, watching as Buneary was thrown away by the force of the combined moves.

Blair clicked his tongue at this, especially since it seemed that August was in no hurry to move. He was waiting for Blair to use all of his little tricks since that was what had won his last two battles. Blair thought he could wait just as long as August, but the fact that he knew Zangoose was a higher level made him edgy. He needed to be causing it as much damage as he could, but that meant risking damage. Neither option seemed very appealing, so he just went with it and tried to pull out another trick.

"Splash, Buneary!"

All of a sudden the furry Pokémon began hopping around madly, resembling a Magikarp out of water. August assumed that what it was supposed to look like, but he had no clue why Blair was using such a useless move or if it would even fit into a trick. But it did fit, very well actually, as a distraction as Blair quickly ran through his battle plans. Zangoose was stronger than Buneary and also had fighting moves which were super effective. That meant he really had no edge on this Pokémon. He honestly assumed that it was even faster than his partner due to the significant level gap, as well. This was even more hopeless than with Kirill! He took a deep breath as he watched August become less interested in Buneary's little show and decided on what he had to do. It was a long shot, but he did have one option.

"Buneary, use Ice Punch!" demanded Blair with sudden intensity.

The move name startled August as much as Rock Tomb had startled Blair. Ice Punch was something that could only be an egg move to a Buneary, meaning it was hard to know if it had it or not. Yet August quickly saw that this was in no way a bluff as one of the brown Pokémon's ears began to glow bright blue and it approached Zangoose. August quickly spat out for it to dodge, but it was much too late. Although the move itself barely connected, meaning miniscule damage if that, Zangoose's entire body became engulfed in ice. Before Blair even knew what was going on August had withdrawn his partner and congratulated him. Then Mr. Deron began to run through his speech about the importance of the officers and thanked all those who participated before officially giving him and Nikkita the titles. Although Blair was admittedly happy he won the position, he found it a rather hollow victory. He may have won the first battle with skill, and maybe the second with wit, but the third had undoubtedly been with luck. It just did not leave a good taste in his mouth. However, when he looked back at his newly befriended cousin and her mysterious, slight smile he could not taste anything but sweet success.


	3. Chapter 2

In Their Shadow

Chapter 2, Numb

After the matches class proceeded in a blur. Blair was still shocked that he had won, and it was not like class actually lasted long enough for him to get ahold of himself. Since this was the first day of classes all today's activities were merely housekeeping, no notes or homework or meeting any teacher other than the homeroom one. That suited everyone just fine, especially after the matches. Just from all the energy exerted it made the entire class exhausted, audience included. They had all been on the edges of their seats watching incredible battles when some of them had never even participated in a single one in their life. They were eager to try, but not against today's competitors. It became really clear quite fast who was going to be at the top of this class.

"I believe this brings our time to an end, class," Mr. Deron finished, motioning towards the door, "But I need to see class officers before they go."

With that it was like a dam breaking as all the students filed out the door, but the class officers were not the only ones left. No, Kirill was here, glaring daggers at Blair no less, and August with the company of Florence had made it over to Nikkita. Blair rolled his eyes as he trudged his way over to Mr. Deron, hoping that August would make his little visit short so he could leave and throttle Kirill where there were no teachers looking. His hopes were not exactly answered, but it worked in his book when he realized that Nikkita had followed him to their teacher's side.

"What do you three need?" Mr. Deron asked, glancing at the other students from his desk he had taken a seat at.

Surprisingly, Florence was the one that spoke up, but she could be barely heard, "Nikki and I walk to the dorms together…"

Nikkita nodded in agreement, "She is my roommate, so she is just waiting on me."

Kirill jumped at this excuse, "And that one is my roommate. I cannot leave him here, can I?"

Blair found himself biting back a retort about how he did not need to be led around like a toddler and how Kirill should not let the door hit him on the way out, but he managed to keep his cool, "Oh? I would hate to trouble you, Kirill. By all means, leave without me."

The death glare that was sent his way rivaled some Pokémon moves Blair noted as Mr. Deron's gaze shifted to August, "And you?"

"I wanted to stay with Nikki and Florence. We all live close to each other in the Azel region, so we kind of stick together." August explained, not caring if it was a proper excuse because every word he said was true and they all knew it by this point.

Mr. Deron seemed to catch some kind of justified aura radiating from August since he just nodded, opting to leave it alone, and then focused his attention on the class officers, "I said I could not really explain class officer, but I will try: basically, an errand runner with entitlement. You will be the closest to the staff and student council, which you can still run for by the way, because you will do any jobs they require of you. That is power in of itself for brownie points, but the main form of power is in that of special privileges you receive to do your errands."

He shot a glance at the three others listening in and sighed, "We are very strict about watching over our students for their safety, which the regulations have a lot to do with the controversy over allowing them to travel at this age. That is why we venture into both sides to keep political peace. You two are the travelling side. Unlike the rest of the student body you are allowed to travel the school grounds during certain hours. You still have a dorm curfew and blocked off areas, but other than that you are free. In all actuality, you can gain permission for blocked off areas or to violate curfew rather easily, usually. Not even the student council has any of that. But, as said, it is a lot of work because there are so few of you. This really is a very tiny school, so few classes and fewer officers. We purposely are vague with the position because we want people to enjoy the position, but not to abuse it."

By the time Mr. Deron finished his explanation Blair was wondering just how he was going to sleep tonight. After hearing all of that, Kirill was certainly going to try and kill him if he had not already been planning to. Still, he did not regret receiving the position in the least. He felt a little guilty for keeping August away from Nikkita, but not too guilty since August could be friends with anyone.

"So what about the student council?" the words brought Blair right out of his thoughts as he watched Nikkita continuing, "When do we settle that?"

Mr. Deron smiled at this, "You are a clever one aren't you? You are right to be suspicious; these competitions today were also for us to pick the student council nominees. I will not bore you with all the details, but this is just one part of that. Your applications, achievements, past, and even bloodlines are being considered and we will announce what the facility has chosen tomorrow. The student council is another one of those things that we are specifically vague about."

Blair's eyes flickered hesitantly between his teacher and Nikkita. This was not where he had expected this conversation to go at all. First he was granted all sorts of freedoms by a vague position and then he is being considered for an even vaguer position without his consent, each strapping him with untold amounts of responsibility. It felt like he never had a choice in these matters at all, which left a slightly nasty taste in his mouth. However, as he looked at Nikkita's stoic face, he could taste her bitterness from sight alone, far more engulfing than his own. The power of it almost made him choke and he honestly could not even understand how he knew she was frustrated about this. Whatever the case, he assumed the girl valued her freedom in every aspect, possibly more than life itself.

"So we are up for the positions, too?" August asked, breaking the tension, much to Blair's relief.

Mr. Deron nodded, once again refocusing on Nikkita as he spoke, "The positions in the student council—president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, and various other random positions generated from year to year are all up for grabs for any student attending this academy, technically. However, the faculty assigns these titles however they so choose, including giving more than one title to the same person. It is the way it has always worked here. Now, if that is all for questions, you two are dismissed."

Blair let this sink in a moment before he realized that Nikkita had already grabbed her things and was heading out the doorway with Florence by her side. No one else must have noticed her either since Kirill and August were just now starting to scramble over to her. He pondered for a quick moment on whether he should race them, but decided against it as the four slipped out of the doorway. At once he felt tension overcome the room once more as he looked back at his teacher, shuffling through papers.

"Mr. Deron?" he began rather softly, not finding the strength to keep the words down any longer.

His teacher merely glanced at him as a sign of paying half attention.

"I know this place is nothing like other schools, but this is going a bit far. None of you know these students. Even I do not, and I grew up with most of them." Blair continued, his voice growing in strength, "What is the point in representing both sides, when it is crossing the boundaries on separate extremes as well? I cannot fathom how a top rated school like this can afford to do all of these things."

Once Blair was finished, he was given the shock of the day when his teacher started laughing. This was just not regular laughing either, he was cracking up.

Once he had gotten control of himself he turned his full attention to his student with a soft smile, "I cannot agree with you more, and we did not start out with these extremes. We actually had to come up with them to accommodate the parents—_your _parents in particular. Or should I just say your family in general? I know you do not know Nikkita well, while I am at it I should probably say the school knows more about each of you than you would think, but her father and yours are the main reasons the students are so restricted and the class officers have all those freedoms. I am sure you saw it, the smoldering contempt in Nikkita's eyes, when I explained her lack of choice in these matters. She very clearly values freedom, don't you think? Well, the same can be said of her father. As for yours, I know you have heard him speak of keeping children as children and had very little freedom at home yourself. Surely, you know how influential your father is, so it should be no surprise to learn that Nikkita's is just as well."

It took a moment for this to sink into Blair's mind. Admittedly he had always been a little shocked that his father even let him attend this academy, although he had not so much as admitted it to himself. As it sunk in further, he found himself unable to comment on what he had said, but he had not answered every question posed.

"What about picking the positions for us? What good does that do when you do not know _us_? You may know our parents and our history, but we are a completely separate matter." Blair insisted, mind still rather rattled.

Mr. Deron's face grew pained for a moment before his soft smile returned, "I know, but what are we to do? It may seem stupid for us to rush this, but have faith in us like we have faith in you all. We will give the positions to people we are sure can handle them, and even if they cannot, it is not the end of the world. After all, we want you to learn here and be productive as well as safe, but we also really want you to enjoy yourselves. It would be such a waste if you did not. So, I will leave you with that, Blair. I know it is confusing and can be scary, but try to have fun, and get to know your cousin better while you are at it. It seems she is in high demand."

Blair sighed, watching as his teacher once more began paper work. He really had no clue what to think anymore. First he was late, then he met the hero's heir, then there were Pokémon battles, class officers were named, the student council was explained, he was just told that the academy's strange rules were all his father's fault, and now he was pretty sure Kirill was lying in wait in their dorm so he could murder him. All in all, if there was a guy in a clown suit waiting outside for him he would not question it, for this was just the type of day it was. And he had a sneaking suspicion he would have a _lot _of days like this being here, and he was not really sure what to think about that either. So, for the first time in his short life, Blair's mind went blank and he thusly made his way numbly back to his dorm.


End file.
